Leggy have made a name for themselves since forming in 2013, touring the U.S. several times over, often with established acts like punk legend Alice Bag or Japanese garage-pop group Shonen Knife. They have appeared at festivals like SXSW, Nelsonville Music Festival, Cropped Out, Bunbury and most recently, were handpicked alongside a select group of Cincinnati bands to play the Ohio Is For Lovers Festival in August. They also came in second in CityBeat’s 2022 Best of issue in the “Best Local Band” category.
The band has plenty to reflect on and have built a fair resume over the years. It was one of these previous experiences that formed the inspiration behind new single “Lipstick on the Mic,” when Leggy played their last show just before the pandemic, opening for the All-American Rejects at Bogarts in late February 2020.
“Tyson Ritter was like my first huge, major, big crush growing up — still is to be honest,” Leggy’s lead singer and songwriter, Veronique Allaer, tells CityBeat. In the song, it’s almost as if Allaer sings the line “I left lipstick on the mic for you” — with a tone that sounds simultaneously sweet and amorous — right for Ritter.
“Lipstick on the Mic” has a laid-back confidence with an overall slightly more lustrous sound. Allaer says they were looking for a more polished and poppy sound — more aligned with major influences like St. Vincent and Lana Del Rey for the new material. She says she wanted the vocals “clearer and closer to the ear” and to track each instrument individually for more control in production. It seems to have paid off, helping to create the atmospheric, layered and more cinematic sound of “Lipstick on the Mic.”
Recorded in Chicago in March of 2020 by friend and artist/producer Paul Cherry, Leggy’s upcoming (and still untitled) album was finished just days before the COVID-19- imposed shutdown. The song and coming album feature Leggy founding member, bassist Kirsten Bladh, who has performed with the band intermittently since moving to Los Angeles four years ago, along with a newer addition to the band’s sound, Alessandro Corona, who adds keys and organ.
For the music video, released on Friday, Oct. 14, Allaer moves through a party, drifting from room to room and scene to scene between shadows and moody lighting, soaked in high contrast technicolor hues with bold choices of color and light.
“We talked about the video having an overall trippy/hazy/color saturated look to it and I love how it turned out,” Allaer says.
Directed by Previn (mononymous) and made by local production company TwentyTwenty, the video achieves the goal in an atmospheric and radiant-looking party in the singer’s house featuring a cast of friends and collaborators including drummer Chris Campbell, Corona and part-time Leggy bassists Katrina Eresman and Sarah Hanselmann. “I always wanted to do a classic house party video and this song seemed like a great choice for it,” says Allaer.
Leggy plays at Northside Tavern Oct. 27 with Strobobean and Scrunchies. They expect the new album to be released early next year.
Editor’s Note: Katrina Eresman is a frequent contributor to CityBeat.
Watch Leggy’s music video for “Lipstick on the Mic” below:
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This article appears in Oct 5-18, 2022.